American Junk
 

So my mother in-law felt the need to upgrade her lawnmower and gave me her old one to take out to the cabin. It's a LawnBoy, two stroke, with aluminum deck and has been in continuous use by her since 1963. I decided to fire her up to make sure it worked before I hauled it out to the lake. Long story short, it never made it out to the lake. I'm now pushing a 44 year old lawnmower around the house and my #1 son is demoted to the Honda. What ever happened to the american manufacturing base that gave us products like this?

Jorg

Tree huggers outlawed the 2-stroke years ago....

You don't have to be a "tree hugger" to see the problems of two-stroke cycle engines. The old models were pathetically dirty, spewing all sorts of unburned fuel and oil out of the exhaust. I don't like breathing ozone any more than you.

But aren't there still two-stroke cycle marine engines? A few years ago they still had them. Not cheap, mind you.

Bovine emissions are far worse adn more excessive, but the tree huggers don't complain about those....only the pine cone eaters

I don't see how my little two stroke lawnmover run for 1 hr. a week has any relevance on anything when compared to leviathan SUV's or highway tractors (whose cargo should move by rail). That's the problem when you base your emissons control on percentage rather than volume, you have the gov going after lawn mowers and weedwackers while I can drive my 8 mpg Scout across the country with impunity.

Jorg

so tell me.. is each rail going to lead directly to the back of every wal mart.

or even every town for that matter.

I'm not suggesting that everything move by rail, but if you made the trucking industry pay it's own way you'd find economics push more transport onto rail where available. You'd have to find someone with a death wish to try to implement it though. Black55 is right.

Damn Unions

Jorg

they pay heavy road taxes not to mention fuel taxes to pay their way...

besides how do you think every single thing you buy at the store gets there?

But are those heavy road taxes in direct proportion to the damage they do? In our city the main thoroughfares are of heavy weight construction and the right lanes are damaged by trucks and busses. Residential streets are lightweight and last forever.

I have no problem with trucks delivering goods from a railhead but can't understand the economics of shipping goods across country by truck. The underlying principles of the two make rail the obvious choice where possible. You can't compare the efficiency of tons moved by rail vs. road. When private enterprise (mines, etc.) needs to move tons on their own dime they build rail. Only when they have access to a subsidised road system does trucking become an option.

Jorg

Would you support taxes based on how many kids you have since breeders use a disporportionate ammount of the public services as well? Basicly you pay a predetermined ammount extra for each kid you pop out?

I forget exact figures in what they pay per mile in taxes etc....even when parked. My uncle once told me and its an ungodly ammount. As he once owned a fleet of Dump trucks outside Baltimore MD. He is now deceased.

I suppose if I was trying to control the population I would. I'm trying to control emissions here.

Jorg

You willing to pay $10 for a gallon of milk thats days from expiration, or $5 for a stale loaf of bread?

Fact is Trucks are the only practicle way to move goods to market.

You better do the math on that - railroad is near capacity in 2005:rolleyes:

Would that be one of those old International Scouts? Those are COOL.

Maybe not for driving across the country, however.